'Smug Little Twit' Mac Guy Gets Heaved From Apple Campaign

In reaction to an apparent country-wide disdain for Apple's Mac Guy in its current campaign, the company will not ask Mac Guy Justin Long back for the next iteration of the campaign. Calling the Mac Guy a "smug little twit," Slate ad critic Seth Stevenson think Apple is "parodying its own image while also cementing it." This is what passes for big news in our industry. Next

Bob Garfield Disses Defeatist Saturn Aura Ad

It's pretty funny. A tame excerpt:

"Look! A crash-test bulkhead! Look! A rugged fashion model squinting with driving intensity! Look! The California sunrise glinting into the lens! No surprise, of course, that a General Motors product introduction would embrace every single cliche of the auto-ad genre. This, in addition to losing money and shutting down factories, is what GM does."

Ouch.

Saturn's Aura ad indeed reeks of something we've seen 10,000 times before, and the slogan feels like they've thrown up their hands and died: "Saturn. Like always. Like never before." Feels a lot like the work a high schooler would put together if asked, not to create a car ad, but to simulate an aggregate of car ads seen over a lifetime.

Sucks for you, Saturn. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Homeless People Could Live In A Car For A Week Too

There's a law somewhere that says two makes a trend and with Chevy joining Nissan in the "our car is so awesome you could live in it" thing, we officially have a trend. As you know, some dude is living in a Nissan and making a "film" about it. Opinions as to how and when and ad somehow became a film aside, the series of "films" is supposed to endear us to the vehicle and the glory of its comfort.

Now, Chevy, with its Livin' Large in Aveo, is following eight college student teams across the country for a week with webcams and blog entries. Everyone gets to vote on which team lives the "largest." Wow. Cool. Yea, road trips are fun and we've had our share back in the day when every friggin' move you made wasn't commercialized.

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Hot Chic Points Out Addictiveness of Cigarettes

Using the delightfully lustful imagery of the typical male fantasy, this American Legacy commercial aligns the allure of cigarettes to that of the hot neighbor next door. The spot is part of a new multi-city health program aimed at acknowledging the difficulties of quitting smoking and offering resources to make the job easier. The spot points to BecomeAnEx.org where those resources can be found.

Ashlee Simpson Launches Skechers Line, Can't Speak

Ashlee Simpson, who seems to be morphing into some kind of plastic representation of her older sister Jessica, has hooked up with Skechers to launch a new line of footwear. During the launch announcement a few days a go, she said, "Skechers is brand that is not afraid to going the beyond. I look forward to representing Skechers clothing line; I also hope to add a few more pairs to my wardrobe," causing some to wonder if English is her first language. Whatever. She looks way better with blond hair and whatever facial/nasal adjustments she's had than her former I-Must-Look-Different-Than-Jessica look she forced upon us earlier.

CarMax the Best Buy of Used Car Dealers

While we're not quite sure just how different CarMax is from other used car dealers with their claims of return policies and "buy without sell" but they sure are different in that they look much more like a Wal-Mart of a Best Buy than most cheesy, flag-flying used car lots. The company has just launched a two-part Boone/Oakley-created television campaign. The first part focuses on the brand with three very un-used car-like commercials set in Rome and the Old West. A second set of commercial focuses on the unique differences between CarMax and other used car dealers. We especially like the freaked out 16 year old who pitches a fit after realizing the nw car her fathr just bought her int eh wrong color. Cue "5 day return policy" voice over. For the most part, good stuff if not a bit off the wall. (Click more for links to spots.)

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Talking Pets Turns Pet Love Into Legit Fetish

If we thought pet enthusiasts couldn't get more bizarre then we were wrong because Purina just broadened the landscape. On the Toronto-based Talking Pets mini-site, pet owners can further distance themselves from the rest of humankind by sending "purr/woof mail," posting pictures of their furry friends and even gauging their Pet IQ's.

"It's unique in that it approaches the world from a pet's perspective," explains Christina Yu, VP and Creative Director at Lowe Roche. To be honest we're not too sure the local siberian husky would be receptive to having his grin admired and emotions dissected over the internet, but whatever. Purina knows better than we do. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Geico Caveman Battles News Anchors For Respect

Bill Green points us to yet another entry in the increasingly popular Geico Caveman saga. In this latest commercial, our caveman friend is subjected to unfeeling, uncaring news anchors who frustrate the poor guy even further. He's got a nice rant in the middle of the spot though. Bill also tells us there's another clip that appears to be a movie trailer for the campaign. We don't know if these will sell any insurance but we cerainly are entertained by them.

AIDS Campaigns Say 'HIV is Gay,' 'Horny Heads Get Lost'

Beyond Madison Avenue has examined two recent AIDS campaigns. The first, an LA-based campaign which carries the headline "HIV is a gay disease" is causing a stir but if those causing the stir would just read the body copy, they'd know that's not entirely what the ad's saying. The second, a German campaign, carries a racier tone typical of many European ads and cites, "It's easy to lose your head when your horny." Oh, the double (or is it triple) meaning there is just gold.

Ben & Jerry's 'Clamates' Ice Cream Flavors

While fast forwarding through something on the DVR last night, we saw what looked like claymation character so we rewound to realize it was a new commercial called Half Baked from Ben and Jerry's. Its one of four in a series, created by Amalgamated and animated by LAIKA/house, that "claymates" ice cream flavors into characters. Shawn Waite isn't sure he likes the literal translation of the spots but we don't like to think too deeply about the topic of ice cream so we're just fine with their simplicity. If anything, they're quite different than ice cream advertising that has come before. Check the commercial out here, here, here and here.